


Shadows of the Sun

by scftwoojins



Category: K-pop, Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: stray kids au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-18
Updated: 2017-12-28
Packaged: 2019-02-16 10:18:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13052004
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scftwoojins/pseuds/scftwoojins
Summary: In a world without hope, their last chance lies within finding the eight missing Guardians before time runs out.





	1. prologue

The girl’s footsteps make no sound as she walks through the barren landscape. It didn’t take a genius to see that there was no life here anymore.

If she looked close enough, she could still see it. The mothers running with their children to seek unattainable safety, the men running headfirst into a fight they couldn’t help in, and the nine guardians trying to fight the darkness that was corrupting the land.

If she looked close enough and let her mind wander, she could see the earth still splitting open in half as eight of the guardians were forced into Hell.

If she closed her eyes and focused on it, she could still see the strongest guardian, Chan, holding desperately onto the youngest guardian’s hand in hopes of saving one of them. The youngest guardian with his name lost to time had let go of his hand in hopes of him closing the split.

With a sigh, she stops and looks down at where she was standing. The crack still could be seen from where Chan had forced the crack to close, sealing the eight guardians and darkness off forever.

Nobody could have accounted for someone summoning the darkness back.

She sighs as she adjusts the gas mask hanging around her neck. It didn’t cover her eyes since the smoke they used wouldn’t hurt her through her eyes, only if it was inhaled.

She walks further, only stopping once to pull the gas mask up onto her face before walking further into the destroyed town. The white smoke around her should’ve had her on the ground, choking and begging to anyone for mercy.

As she finally left the town, the sense of unease left her. She didn’t feel as if someone was watching her anymore. She continued up the hill towards the willow tree.

Stopping for a moment to look around, she smiled slightly as she saw a zinnia poking out of the dead grass. Not too far from it, seven others stood, all healthy and varying in colors.

“You know what these stand for, right?” She asks, not turning around to look at him.

“Of course I do.” His voice answers her question almost as soon as there’s silence. She hears him step forward and she smiles slightly, looking at him over her shoulder.

“What do they stand for?” She asks, crossing her arms as he walks to stand by her side and look down at the zinnias.

“Thoughts of...” His breath hitches as he wipes at the tears pooling in his eyes, “..absent friends.”

She wants to reach out to comfort him but stops herself before she can. “And the willow tree?”

“Sadness.”

The silence between the two is heavy and she shakes her head as she looks at the smallest zinnia, a bright red.

“I could’ve pulled him up.” He speaks into the silence and she stays quiet, letting him continue. “I could’ve pulled Jeongin up and saved him and the others-“

“Chan, you couldn’t have known-“

“I could’ve saved them!” As soon as the last word leaves his lips, his fist connects with the willow tree, leaving a deep dent in it and the guardian nursing his bleeding knuckle.

He slides down onto his knees and sits with his back to her, leaning his forehead against the trunk of the tree. “I could’ve saved them...and I did nothing.”

“You closed the barrier. Jeongin let go so you could do that and seal the darkness away forever.”

“And look what good that did! The darkness is back and I’m without my brothers.” Byungchan doesn’t look at her and it’s so silent, he fears she’s left.

“I’ve been reading a lot lately. Legends, myths, everything I can get my hands on.”

She sits down by the bright red zinnia and smiles when it brushes her leg. There was no wind and she half suspected it was her sitting down but she liked to think it was the youngest guardian himself.

“What does that have to do with me?” Byungchan asks, his voice thick with emotion.

“There’s a way...if we go to the temple and try it, we could bring them back.” She looks up at him and he stops moving.

She smiles again, waiting for him to turn around. “Well? Do you want to hear about it or not?”

As Chan moves to sit next to her and look at the book, neither of them notice the daisies growing next to the zinnias.

And it’s only when he asks the meaning of daisies do they realize it. The two stand up and she tucks the book back into her bag before the two set out towards the temple. And not until they’re halfway down the hill on the other side, does she speak again.

“Hope.”


	2. heart of the earth

I set my bag down on the temple floor as Chan runs around the temple, looking at everything. I smile slightly before looking down and pulling the book and map out.

“According to my calculations and dreams, along with visions from the oracle I met on my way here, these are the locations of six of the guardians. We have Woojin, Seungmin, Jisung, Hyunjin, Minho, and Changbin.”

“What about Felix and Jeongin?” Chan calls out as he stops by Jeongin’s statue and brushes his hand along the base. “Felix could be anywhere and Jeongin...Chan, there’s a good chance Jeongin is dead. He can’t inhale the white smoke without dying.”

I look up and see Chan staring at the statue. “He was...he wasn’t even at his full potential. The day of the battle, I promised him that the next day I would teach him how to focus his power and then we would go get sweets or something.” His voice is laced with sadness and I frown.

“Chan, he could be alive too. We don’t know. But we have to hope that he is. For now, the only thing we can do is figure out how we can get the others back.”

Chan nods and walks over, sitting across from me. “Alright, let’s see who the closest one is and we can go to them first.”

Night falls as we make plans to go towards where Jisung was and then to where Seungmin was.

I stand up to blow out the lantern hanging on the wall out so we could both sleep before the day tomorrow.

“Allexis, what if we can’t stop the darkness this time?” Chan’s voice breaks the silence and I sigh, shaking my head. 

“At least we tried. Goodnight Chan.”

I blow the lantern out and watch the temple plunge into darkness before I let myself lay down on the cold floor. I pull the gas mask up onto my face just in case before closing my eyes and attempting to sleep.

——

I open my eyes slowly, seeing the temple washed in a pale light. I look over and see the sky is a milky pink, signaling the rising sun is not too far off. I reach up to grab the gas mask and pull it off, laying it by my bag.

I slowly stand up and stretch before walking deeper into the temple towards the doorway that opened into the garden.

The lush vegetation and bright green grass was such a sight compared to the outside world’s lack of color and life. Trees grew tall and had fruit on them. Flowers were of varying colors and species, all of them in full bloom.

I smile slightly as I look around. Even if Felix was no longer around to care for the garden, it flourished. I walk deeper into the garden in hopes of finding fruit that would be reachable.

I stop when I reach a small grove of trees that was tightly woven together around something. The trees leave a big enough gap for me to crawl through and with slight hesitation, I get on my hands and knees to do just that.

Nothing harmful can enter this garden. I repeat that phrase over and over in my head, praying for it to still be true even though the Guardians were no longer around.

I’m able to stand once I’ve crawled a few feet inside. The small enclosed area felt safe and almost homely. I walk through it and stop when I see a boy laying on the ground on a pile of leaves.

He was laying eerily still and his blonde hair had dirt and leaves in it. My eyes widen as I realize who it is.

“Felix...”

——

Chan picks the bucket of water up and tries to wake Felix up by calling his name again. When Felix doesn’t stir, Chan shrugs and throws the water on him.

“What the-?!”

Felix sits up immediately, drenched head to toe. His hair is plastered to his forehead and his eyes are wide as he looks around.

His eyes land on Chan and I in almost an instant and he tears up. “Chan?” He asks as said boy nods and holds his arms out for Felix to jump into and hug him tightly.

Their laughter fills the enclosed area as the trees start to grow upwards, revealing us to the garden.

“They were protecting you...” Chan breathes out as he hugs Felix tightly, crying silently.

I smile and move to give the two boys some alone time to catch up. I stop when I hear Chan call out to me.

“Allexis, where are you going?”

“To give you both some alone time.”

“Nonsense. Felix, this is Allexis. Allexis, you know Felix.” I stare at Felix as he stares me down, his face cold and unnerving. I want to flinch away but I remember Felix’s legend like the back of my hand.

——

Felix’s mother couldn’t conceive a child and her husband had left her due to this. Overcome with grief, she went into the forest to find one of the two trees of life. She lacked much hope when she reached it to find the tree looked like it was dying.

As she collapsed and fell asleep next to it, the tree of life’s protector had heard her pleading wish to have a child. Thus, the protector decided to grant her wish.

When his mother returned to her home, she was surprised to find a hole outside of her home. She looked inside it to see if there was any evidence of who had dug it. Instead of finding an empty hole, there was a small child in there. He looked to be about three and was dressed in a light gray shirt, black sneakers, and denim overalls.

“Mama!” His voice rang in her ears as he smiled and reached up towards her. Her heart warmed at the sight of the boy and she reached down to pick him up and carry him inside.

Felix had a fairly normal childhood. He didn’t have many human friends because he was considered weird for spending so much time in the forest.

His mother always sensed something was off with Felix. He was too good to be true. And when he turned thirteen, she realized it was.

His dark brown hair started turning blonde and she felt her heart lurch at the idea of her baby boy ever facing the darkness in the world. Unfortunately, she never lived to see it.

On his fourteenth birthday, his mom never awoke from her slumber the night before.

Felix ran from the house in horror, going to the only other place he ever felt safe: the forest. He ran to the same tree his mother had ran to so many years ago. And when he collapsed by it, heaving and begging for it to all be a dream, the same tree’s protector saw him.

That night, Felix dreamed of his mother kissing his forehead before leaving. And when he awoke, he knew what he had to do.

Felix practiced day and night to perfect his powers. He had nearly mastered everything he could after three years and with a small bag, a hanging lantern, and a cloak, he set out to become a Guardian.

He wasn’t expecting to see anyone else like him. So when he stumbles upon three other boys, he hides and watches until they leave. Unfortunately for him, they don’t plan on leaving.

The two that looked older seemed to be taunting the youngest looking one. Felix frowns in concern and leans forward in the tree he’s hiding in but stays covered.

“Oh come on, Jeongin. You can’t seriously think you’ll be able to do anything with crystals.” One of them says, shoving the youngest back slightly.

“Hyunjin, come on. Chan will kill us if his little lap dog tells on us.” The other one says, grabbing Hyunjin’s shoulder.

“Shut up, Jisung. I’m going to teach this little pest a lesson.” Hyunjin smirks as he shoves Jisung off and raises his hand. Flames appear, surrounding Jeongin and they slowly flicker closer and closer to the younger boy.

Felix looks closer and can see Jeongin’s eyes are glassy, holding back tears. His heart aches and he moves to jump down but Jeongin’s sniffles stop him.

“Aww, are you crying?” Hyunjin taunts as Jeongin wipes his eyes with the sleeve of his black shirt. His fists clench and he looks at Hyunjin.

“I’m...not...WEAK!”

As soon as Jeongin yells, a huge chunk of Celestine shoots up from the earth, throwing Hyunjin back from the motion and extinguishing the flames. Jisung’s eyes widen in shock as he looks between Jeongin and Hyunjin.

The two scramble to run away, leaving Jeongin alone as the Celestine sinks back into the earth and he collapses to his knees.

Felix sneaks down the tree and silently makes his way over to Jeongin.

“Are you okay?”

Jeongin jumps, looking up at Felix in fright before relaxing at his aura. Positive vibes came from him and he wasn’t a threat.

“I’m fine. You..saw that?” He asks, his eyes looking around frantically as if Hyunjin and Jisung could pop out any moment.

“Yeah, that was really cool. What you did..not what they did.” Felix frowns and sits next to him.

“They do it often. They don’t mean any harm, it’s just...how they show they care.”

“That doesn’t seem very caring.” Felix rubs his back as Jeongin sighs, “Hyunjin has a rough background so I don’t mind it and Jisung never does anything to me. I’m never hurt...just taunted.”

“Well, I’m Felix. Do you like lilies?” He asks as Jeongin nods frantically, “I love lilies! They’re my favorite flower!”

Felix smiles and holds his hand over the ground, making a small lily grow before he picks it and hands it to Jeongin.

After they sit in silence, Jeongin offers to bring Felix to Chan. “Maybe he can help!” He offers as Felix agrees.

The two walk a short distance until they arrive at a temple and Felix can see five boys practicing their powers while one watches from a perch.

“Changbin!” A voice yells and Felix watches as an older boy walks out of the temple, looking around. The boy on the perch laughs before turning completely black and disappearing along the temple. The shadow lands flat on the ground before stopping in front of the boy who had just called him and appearing directly in front of him.

“You called?”

“The one who just ran down the building is Changbin. He’s a shadow bender, he can turn into a shadow and control them and a bunch of other cool stuff!” Jeongin explains, smiling.

“What about the others?” Felix asks, looking at the other six boys.

“Jisung can control ice, he’s really good at it too. Hyunjin...well, you saw. He can control fire and he’s trained a lot. Minho is standing further left than the others and he’s got telekinesis! He’s super cool and nice and is a really great guy!”

Felix puts the names to their faces as he looks at the three.

“Seungmin is by the pond, he can control water. He’s really calm but he can make really big waves when he’s focused. Woojin is over by the statue, he can control metal. You should’ve seen him the other day! He was lifting up this huge piece of metal, it was incredible!”

Felix’s eyes land on the last one, the one who had just walked out. “And him?”

“That’s Chan, he can control the earth like rocks, sand, and stuff like that. He’s the strongest and the leader. He’s really nice and patient. He’s helping me learn how to focus my powers. Come on! You have to meet the others!” Jeongin grabs Felix’s hand and drags him down the hill to the others. 

Felix can feel the tension as Jeongin introduces him to everyone and his eyes land on Hyunjin when he scoffs and mutters to Jisung.

“If you’ve got something to say, say it to my face, Hyunjin.” Felix challenges as it grows silent.

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me. So tell me, what were you saying to Jisung?” He challenges as Hyunjin chuckles darkly, turning away from him and moving to walk away.

“You’re pathetic. Exactly like Jeongin. You two think you’re something special but he can control crystals and you can...what? Grow flowers? We need strong Guardians, not pathetic weaklings like y-“

Felix raises his hand as a redwood tree grows in front of Hyunjin, knocking him to the ground and causing him to bust his lip from the force.

“I can do more than grow flowers.” Felix growls as Hyunjin stands, his back to Felix. “Oh you’ve made a grave mistake.” Hyunjin chuckles darkly before turning around and raising his hand, making flames rush towards Felix.

Chan grabs Jeongin and yanks him away from the flames as Felix crosses his arms in an X, forming a cocoon of vines that encase him, taking the heat of the flames.

He lets the vines burn to ashes before looking at Hyunjin. “I made a grave mistake? Bring it, lantern.” He growls as Hyunjin smirks.

“It’s on, flower boy.”

In a mix of flames and various trees, vines, and other plants, Chan watches as Felix doesn’t lose his cool and counters every attack quickly but still well thought out.

Hyunjin only stops when his lip and nose are bleeding with one of his eyes swollen shut. “Alright, alright! I surrender, you win.”

He limps off with Jisung nodding to Felix before following him. Felix smiles and wipes the blood from his lip in time for Jeongin to jump on him, hugging him tightly.

Changbin appears next to him, patting his back while Minho nods to him. Woojin gives him a thumbs up and Seungmin congratulates him.

Chan smiles and walks over, “Felix, correct?” He asks as said boy nods. “Would you like to become a Guardian?”

——

I look at Felix and hold my head up high, trying not to look like I lack any confidence.

Felix grins and holds his hand out for me to shake. “Nice to meet you!”

I smile and shake his hand, “It’s lovely to meet you as well.”

The two leave the garden, catching up as I pick three apples for us to eat. I leave the garden and sit on the floor of the temple with them, handing them the apples.

Felix stares closely at them before his eyes widen and he slaps the apples out of Chan and I’s hands. He throws his across the temple and dives to grab my gas mask, shoving it onto my face.

I trust him and fix it so it’s on correctly, my eyes widening as I watch white smoke pour from the garden entrance. It surrounds us and floats up to the top of the temple, disappearing almost as soon as it appeared. I don’t take my gas mask off until Chan tells me it’s okay.

“What the hell just happened?!” Chan says, looking at the garden’s entrance. “This temple is meant to be safe. And now it’s not. Felix, what’s going on?”

“When I was in my coma...I wasn’t alone all the time. Look, there’s so much more that I need to tell you but we simply don’t have-“ Chan cuts Felix off, “We have time before we set out to find the next Guardian. So sit down and tell us.”

Felix sighs and sits down, looking at us.

“Her name is Yerim. She’s..not normal. She’s...sixteen, I think. I can hardly remember the details. I thought she was good but suddenly, everything around her started wilting and her eyes flashed black and suddenly, she turned into some sort of bat.”

My eyes widen as I listen and I gasp in shock as he confirms what I thought. “Allexis, what is it?” Chan asks, concerned as I shake my head.

“No, no, Felix, does she have dark brown hair? And was she in purple?” I ask as he nods.

I grab my bag and pull my book of legends and myths out. “No, no, oh my god no. This is worse than I thought. You guys are fine because you’re protecting us...but if she made it to the real world, who knows if the others made it too...oh no, this is bad.”

“Lexi, calm down and tell me what’s going on.” Chan looks at my book and I look at Felix and then at Chan.

“I didn’t think...they could...cross over. Oh god, the others are in extreme danger right now. Listen to me, we have to find the others as soon as possible.”

“What’s happening? Who is Yerim? Who are they? Why are you so panicked?” Felix asks, concerned.

“Yerim isn’t the only spawn from the darkness. I thought it would...stop..and we’d only have to see one spawn. But there’s ten. They’re all powerful and I can only imagine they’ll be in the way of us getting to the others.”

“But who exactly are they?” Chan asks, looking at my book. I sigh and brush a strand of hair out of my face. “Dark witches. The ones who use black magic. The ten girls are powerful. Two of them fell long ago but the ten remaining won’t talk about it. Listen, the longer they’re out there, the more time they have to get to the others and eliminate them. We need all nine of you to stand any chance against them.”

“Then where do we go first?” Felix asks, looking at the map.

“To the septentrionalem campis glacies.” I stand up and shove the book into my bag.

“Huh?” Chan asks as I roll my eyes, “It’s Latin. It means northern ice fields.”

“Why are you speaking in Latin?” Felix asks as I pick the map up, “Probably because that’s what the name for the fields is. It was named hundreds of years ago.”

“Oh.”

“Felix, why couldn’t we have eaten the apples?” Chan asks as I finish packing my bag.

“They were corrupted. Just like...the garden is..” Felix trails off, looking sadly at his former home. 

“We’ll get it back, Felix. I promise.” I promise him before putting my bag over my shoulder and picking up the lantern. “We’ll light this as it gets darker. Now let’s go. I want us to see snow before sunset.”

“Wait, who are we going to the septentrionalem campis ignis for?” Felix asks after we’ve left the temple and walked for a few minutes.

I keep my eyes on the map, not looking at him, “Septentrionalem campis glacies. You just said the northern fields of fire.”

“Oh. Well, who are we going to the septentrionalem whatever for?” He asks, ducking to avoid a tree branch but instead tripping over the root. He stands up and brushes himself off, continuing to walk as if nothing happened.

“Jisung.”


End file.
